


Branching Out

by leavesonbranches



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, perc
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-27
Updated: 2016-06-27
Packaged: 2018-07-18 12:23:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7315084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leavesonbranches/pseuds/leavesonbranches
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annabeth is starting her senior year at VLU and meets Percy the night before the first day. He doesn't seem too interested and thinks all is lost but what if she's wrong and it leads to something more?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Branching Out

**Author's Note:**

> Two Part AU with smutty Percabeth

I finally walk up the last flight of stairs with the last bit of my stuff. It’s move in day. Senior year. The beginning of the end. In one year I’ll be going to a real job and paying bills. That’s completely terrifying. Nope nope nope. I can’t do this to myself again. I promised Piper that I wouldn’t let my future stresses ruin the fun I have ahead of me this year. I’m going to start living in the moment. Branching out. It is my 22nd birthday afterall. And classes start tomorrow. Starting with a lecture on world religion with my favorite professor.  
My arms are full as I walk down the hall to the apartment Piper and I are renting this year instead of staying on campus at VLU and of course she let the door close instead of blocking it so I could get in. I kick the door and yell “Hey, Pipes, open up.” After a few seconds of rustling and a muffled “I’m coming” the door flies open to reveal my best friend.   
She was wearing an orange tank top half tucked into some high waisted shorts and black converse. She played with one of the feathers braided into her hair and said “Oops sorry I started making cookies and I forgot you were still out.”   
I laugh and put the last box of clothes in my room. Then I go back to the kitchen and sit up on the counter to steal the dough from Piper’s mixing bowl. She pulls the bowl away and turns toward the oven to scoop the cookies out onto some cookie sheets.  
“So,” she says, turning away from the cookies to look at me while pointing a spoon in my direction, “it’s your birthday. I’m taking you out for dinner. Where do you want to go. And no fancy places. We should just go out, have some fun, flirt with some guys, get hammered, etc. You know. Normal birthday activities.”  
I sigh, lean back onto the cabinets behind me and start to fidget with a dishtowel on the counter next to me. “I don’t know Pipes. Classes start tomorrow. I have a 9 am lecture. Can’t we just go out and have a quite dinner?”  
“Nope. I’m taking you to Charlie’s.”  
“Charlie’s? Why do we have to go to Charlie’s? Just because we have a pub right down the street doesn’t mean we are obligated to get wasted the night before classes start.”  
“Annabeth come on it’s our senior year. AND it’s your birthday. Plus I want to check it out. Maybe you’ll meet someone? Have a little fun, you know.”  
“Piper I’ve told you before. I don’t need a boyfriend right now. I need to adjust to school and study and stuff.”  
“Well I never said boyfriend. Who says you’d have to see him again after tonight anyway? This is the prime of your life! Live a little.” She says while gesturing wildly with the spoon slinging cookie dough everywhere.  
I throw the dish towel at her and jump off the counter to go unpack a little in my room. “You’re impossible.”  
“Love you too!” She yells after me as I leave the kitchen. “Go shower! We’re leaving for dinner in two hours.”  
I know there’s no talking her out of it so I hop in the shower. When I get back to my room, I find one of my boxes hastily turned over on my bed with a short lavender dress separated from the rest of my clothes next to a sticky note with just a smiley face on it. I sigh and start to do my hair.   
When I emerge from my room 30 minutes later with hair done and dress on, Piper attacks me with a makeup bag. She has me do her makeup for her because she doesn’t have the patience for it. An hour of makeup, accessories, and shoes later, we are both ready and head down the street to the pub each of us in wedges that we can barely keep stable.  
We walk into a dimly lit pub with a lot of people and a lot of noise. It’s just the kind of place I make a point of avoiding. A perky hostess seats us at a table near the wall and hands us huge menus.  
“Anything to drink?” She asks.  
“Two mojitos please.” Piper says before I can decline. It’s her favorite drink but I rarely get drunk. I just glare at her from across the table as the hostess leaves to get our drinks. A minute later she returns with clear iced drinks with a lime slice and a skinny black straw in each.   
“Your waiter will be with you in a minute.”  
Piper and I spend a couple minutes looking at the menus and I start to nurse my mojito. As I finish picking out my order, a guy about our age walks up to our table. He has raven black hair swept to the side like he’d been running his hand through it all day, piercing green eyes, a slightly lopsided smirk, and a black apron tied around his waist. Hurriedly he says “Hi. My name is Percy and I’ll be your server tonight. What’ll you have?”  
I’m too busy staring at him to respond immediately and Piper, with a smirk, orders the black bean soup. I remember what I’m supposed to be doing and ask for the squash pasta. He nods and walks away.   
The moment Percy is out of earshot Piper leans back in her chair, crosses her hands across her chest and says “Ooh so someone has a little crush on the hot waiter now doesn’t she.”   
I avoid her eyes and take a big gulp of my drink before responding. “Piper that’s ridiculous, I just think he’s cute that’s all”  
“Uh huh alright. It’s not like your mouth was hanging open or anything. It’s not like you didn’t blink once or anything. It’s not like you forgot how to talk for a second...Oh wait-”   
I roll my eyes “Piper come on he’s just hot I’m not going to do anything about it.”  
“Oh Annabeth I know that. I was just messing with you.” She reaches across the table and pats my hand as I continue to sip on the mojito from the straw. Surprisingly it’s already almost empty.   
“What do you mean? I could talk to him. I could get his number… I mean, if I wanted to.”  
“Sure I know that, Annabeth. I’m just saying. I mean I’ve known you since freshman year and you’ve never done anything even close to that so I just wasn’t expecting you to act on it.” She takes the straw out of her drink and gestures towards where he walked away to and admits “He is gorgeous though. I wonder if he’s in our class? Why have we never seen him around school?”  
“I don’t know. It’s a big campus, Pipes.” I shake my head and gesture to get him to come over to our table.   
“What can I get you” He says.  
“Well I would like another mojito please. Hey if you don’t mind my asking, do you go to college around here? You look familiar.” I avoid looking at Piper because I know that if I do, I’ll blush and giggle and he’ll know what a liar I am.”  
“Yeah actually I’m a senior at VLU. This is my step-dad’s pub so I sometimes pick up a couple shifts to help him out.” He shrugs and looks around at the full tables of the busy pub like he wants to get away from us.  
“Oh that’s cool. We are seniors too. Maybe we’ll see you around campus.”  
He looks down, shifts on his feet and runs his right hand through his hair. “Yeah, maybe. I’ll go get your drink and let you get back to your conversation.”   
He leaves and I look at Piper. Her face has a little bit of smugness mixed with annoyance. “What a dick.” She says, leaning forward onto the table “He can’t just blow you off like that.”  
“Piper it doesn’t matter. Just let it go.” She harrumphs, crosses her arms, leans back and glares at him as he brings my drink from the bar. I thank him when he puts it down and he nods while looking warily at Piper who is still giving him a death glare.   
“Alright,” I say to her when he leaves, “that was a little unnecessary. You look murderous, Pipes.”   
Her face softens as she looks at me “I’m sorry I just don’t think anyone should treat you like that.”   
I smile, thank her and start to sip on my fresh drink. Piper and I are through another two drinks each before we get our meal. Each time Percy comes over to our table, he seems to leave as quickly as he can while avoiding a severe constant bitchface from Piper. I’m feeling a lot more relaxed and daring after the four mojitos so I try to initiate another conversation about his major and what he’s studying but he dodges all of my inquiries. After another three drinks during which I get more loud and willing to laugh at the stupid shit Piper says while people-watching the bar customers, Piper and I get the check. I grab it before she could and go to pay but I notice something. Someone wrote a phone number on the check with a little smiley face. I look over to him and see him glance at me and blush. It’s his number. I can’t believe I got Percy’s number. Wait...how did I get his number. Doesn’t he hate me? Isn’t that why he has been avoiding my conversations all night? I throw some cash on the table and tuck the receipt into my purse before Piper can see. We get up unsteadily and stumble out of the pub back toward our apartment. After two steps she stops us and rips her shoes off.   
“Hey watch it,” I say as she teeters to one side. I pull her up, almost pulling myself over in the process, and we both end up leaning on each other laughing our asses off. I realize that we must look like baby deer learning to walk in those tall shoes so I join her. We support each other and after our feet are free, we continue on our journey home, still laughing. Shoes in hand, we make it back and I crash on my bed without changing or taking off my makeup. That’s when I remember the lecture I have tomorrow morning and hastily set an alarm on my phone. I can’t believe I got this drunk before the first day. Was this what it meant to branch out? I try remember the last time I drank that much but fail and fall asleep in seconds.


End file.
